Gophers near top 25 in coaches poll, snubbed from votes in AP poll

Minnesota has won four straight ahead of this week's game against Rutgers.

Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown (14) and Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Jack Henderson (20) celebrate a stop on the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

What more do the Minnesota Golden Gophers need to do to get the attention of the AP Top 25 college football poll?

In the 1 p.m. CT release of the Nov. 3 top-25 poll, the Gophers are not in the top 25, nor are they among the teams just outside the top 25 that are receiving votes. The snub comes after Minnesota won on the road against No. 24 Illinois to extend its win streak to four.

Teams receiving votes just outside the AP top 25 include Missouri (81 votes), South Carolina (58), Tulane (41), UNLV (9), Louisiana-Lafayette (9), Washington (4), Arizona State (3), Iowa (2) and Texas Tech (2).

Minnesota is technically ranked 33rd in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They received 14 votes, which is one more vote than Iowa received despite the Hawkeyes pulverizing Wisconsin to improve to 6-3 overall.

At 6-3, the Gophers are eligible for a bowl game and they are tied with Iowa for fifth in the Big Ten with a conference record of 4-2, though the Hawkeyes own the tiebreaker thanks to a win over Minnesota earlier this season.

How many wins can the Gophers get? They're favorites to beat Rutgers on the road next Saturday and then they have a bye before the last two weeks of the regular season feature a home game against Penn State and a trip to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers.